About one in three people with a credit file in Edgefield County, South Carolina, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Edgefield County, 33.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 82% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 70% of U.S. counties.
What drives Edgefield County's score
In Edgefield County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 72.1. People with a car or retail loan behind: 9.3%, August 2025, higher than in 89% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 65.1.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Edgefield County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Edgefield County does better than most counties on two measures: median household income ($75,118, 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (94.2, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 72.1 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind6.2% · August 202561st percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind9.3% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.5% · second quarter of 202665th percentile
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- 65.1 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.0% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 60.3 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent20.6% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.2% · fiscal year 202755th percentile
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- 57.9 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector33.4% · August 202582nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people94.2 · 202532nd percentile
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- 54.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.8% · 202474th percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.3% · 202469th percentile
- People with a disability14.8% · 2020 to 202438th percentile
- People without health insurance9.0% · 2020 to 202459th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$75,118 · 202429th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Edgefield County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Edgefield County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Edgefield County
South Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Edgefield County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 29.3% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Edgefield County, South Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 29.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in Edgefield County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 12.3%
Biggest drop: 2022 to 2023, reaching 12.7%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Edgefield County, South Carolina.
How Edgefield County has changed
Edgefield County's population doubled to 29,455, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2019 to 2024, reaching 29,455. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Edgefield County, South Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Edgefield County rose by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 6,119, with most of the change between 2020 and 2025
High on the chart: 6,363 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Edgefield County, South Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.3% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 18.7% | 2024 16.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,924 | 2024 $75,118 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Edgefield County's history
1785
Edgefield District created in 1785 from southern section of former Ninety-Six District. Wikipedia
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 28,281. The 2020 Census counted 25,657, 91% of the peak. Census Bureau
1998
A tornado in May 1998 did $1 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
22 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Edgefield County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Edgefield County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Edgefield County, in South Carolina and Georgia, two score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Edgefield County ranks 4th of the seven; McCormick County is highest, at 45.6%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond County, GA | 98 | 19.0% | 31.5% |
| Saluda County, SC | 75 | 15.1% | 28.0% |
| Edgefield County, SC | 70 | 16.8% | 29.3% |
| Aiken County, SC | 68 | 13.7% | 26.1% |
| Greenwood County, SC | 67 | 16.3% | 31.6% |
| McCormick County, SC | 52 | 13.4% | 45.6% |
| Columbia County, GA | 30 | 6.6% | 20.0% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Edgefield County the poorest county in South Carolina?
No, Edgefield County's poverty rate was 16.8% in 2024, 21st highest of 46 in South Carolina (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Allendale County, at 31.6%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Edgefield County ranks 27th of 46 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Edgefield County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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South Carolina Legal Services
Legal aid
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Pro Bono Legal Services — SC Bar
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Edgefield County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Edgefield County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.